I’ve long been a fan of freshly marinated olives, for a couple of reasons:
- they taste amazing!
- they are super easy to prepare
- they remind me of summer holidays in Greece
- they taste amazing ……. or did I say that already?!
One of the many unsung heros and a shining beacons of our Australian olive industry is the lovely Margi Kirkby from Gwydir Grove in Moore, Northern NSW. I was lucky enough to meet Margi a while ago and was thoroughly inspired by her charm and zest! Margi along with her business partner Jenni have been growing and harvesting olives since 1996, and are still going strong. With a beautiful range of cold pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), infused olive oils, olives in brine and olive pate to name just a few!!
Our recipe for marinated olives is very straight forward, making it ideal to prepare for family and friends get gatherings, minus the stress. You just need to make sure you get your hands on good quality olives and EVOO.
INGREDIENTS:
600g Mixed Olives – with pips
150-200ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) approx
1tbs coriander seeds – roughly crushed
1tbs fennel seeds – roughly crushed
2 cinnamon quills
4 garlic cloves – skin on
4 long red chilli – cut in half and deseeded
5 bay leaves
8-10 sprigs of thyme
4 strips of lemon peel – no pith
4 strips of orange peel – no pith
METHOD:
- pre-heat your oven to 150 Celsius
- drain, rinse and pat dry the olives using kitchen towel or a clean tea towel
- gently bring the EVOO up to a medium heat in a saucepan
- once the EVOO is warm – carefully add the crushed coriander and fennel seeds and allow to sizzle slightly
- place all BUT the EVOO ingredients into a medium oven proof saucepan and evenly distribute the ingredients throughout
- carefully pour the warm EVOO over the ingredients – place a sheet of baking paper over the olive mixture – then place an ovenproof lid on top of the saucepan
- place the saucepan in the oven – immediately turn the oven down to 100 Celsius and allow the flavours to gently infuse for 90mins
- serve warm
TIPS and SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
- makes a great gift for Christmas or birthdays for any of your foodie friends!
- if you are making a large batch – immediately transfer the warm olives into sterile jars – ensure all the olives are covered in EVOO – seal the jars whilst the olives are still hot – allow the jars to cool – then place in the fridge and enjoy within 6-8 weeks
- if you make a large batch – only reheat the olives once though – take out of the fridge 15 mins before you want to serve them – then gently warm through in saucepan – you may need to add a little more EVOO to ensure the olives are sufficiently covered in oil to avoid them drying out whilst you reheat them
- use the marinated olives to make your own mixed olive tapenade / olive pate
Gwydir Grove products are available at many of the Farmers Markets around Sydney, like The Beaches Farmers Market where you will get to meet Sally on the Gwydir Grove market stall. Sally is super lovely and has a infectious knowledge and passion for olives too!
Or you can order direct from the Gwydir Grove online by CLICKING HERE.
We’d love to see a photo of you enjoying your homemade marinated olives with your friends and family! Simply post your photo on Facebook or via Instagram by using @tastebyronbay and use #tbbmyway so we can follow your beautiful recreations of our recipes.
Enjoy!
T xxx
